BN Beauty: All You Need to Know About Texlaxing Hair!

When it comes to natural hair, there are a lot of grey areas and unanswered questions. One of the questions I get asked frequently is what is texlaxing and does it still mean your hair is not natural? People want to know where they fall; if they texlax are they natural or relaxed? Does texlaxed hair still get ‘damaged’ like relaxed hair or does it get to be just like natural hair?

Those questions are what I want to shed some light on today.

The decision to go natural can be a life changing one, especially if you are not absolutely sure of the decision you are about to make. So, to ease their way into natural hair, women texlax.

The name ‘Texlax’ is gotten from Texturizing and Relaxing. Texlaxing is a process whereby a relaxer is used to loosen the texture of hair without making it straight like relaxed hair. This means your hair is under-processed. For example, if you usually sit for 40mins with a relaxer in your hair, when you texlax that time reduces to about 20 minutes for the entire process, from start to finish.

So why do women choose to texlax their hair? Here are the 3 major reasons;

1. Texlaxed hair is a great way to transition. Because it mixes the best of both worlds i.e still using your relaxer to loosen the hair, and getting similar health and texture to natural hair; women texlax as a way to ease themselves into the natural hair world. It makes hair easier to manage if you are not used to dealing with tight curls, and acts as practice and experience for your journey to becoming fully natural.

2. There is more versatility with texlaxed hair. If you enjoy wearing your hair straight, texlaxing makes it easier to straighten, and even gives you more volume to work with. This way you can practice your natural hairstyles in preparation for your natural hair; or easily revert to relaxed hair if you don’t want to continue to natural hair.

3. Texlaxed hair is less ‘damaged’. Because you are using a less time with relaxer in your hair, the ‘damage’ done to the hair is reduced therefore reducing the chemical effect. It doesn’t get straightened all the way, and using a neutralizing shampoo the relaxing process is stopped.

Keep in mind that you might experience some shedding because you now have 2 kinds of textures on your head – one part relaxed and the other texlaxed.

So if you would like to texlax, here are a few key things to note before you start.

1. Be sure to use a protein treatment at least a week before you texlax your hair.

2. You can use any type of normal relaxer. It could be a no-lye relaxer or a lye relaxer.

3. Be sure to use oil as a sealant for your hair before you apply the relaxer. This provides added protection for your hair. You can also use petroleum jelly or your favourite type of oil to protect your edges before applying the relaxer.

4. Be sure to apply some petroleum jelly to your ends. This is because you don’t want your already relaxed hair to get over-processed during your texlaxing process.

5. To help you get the best results, you can set a timer on your phone or any device so your hair doesn’t get relaxed all the way.

6. Be sure to apply the relaxer to the new growth only. Applying it to the entire length of hair will over-process it.

7. A very important aspect is to remember to use a neutralizing shampoo. This stops the relaxing process so your hair doesn’t keep getting processed even after rinsing.

8. Conditioning is key. This will ensure your hair is soft, tangle free and looking healthy.

Watch Daboju Ogboru of Savvy & Chic Beauty Hub in Lagos as she talks about her texladed update; and Michelle B on how to texlax.

About Jennifer Obiuwevbi

Jennifer is the Beauty Editor & Style Representative of BellaNaija.com. Get in touch - Send an email to: beauty(at)bellanaija.com or style(at)bellanaija.com | Follow us on Instagram: @bellanaijabeauty OR @bellanaijastyle | Follow us on Twitter: @bellanaijastyle

Who on earth sits for 40 MINUTES with relaxer on her hair??? Do people read the warnings and instructions at all? this is why relaxer has such a bad rep! I have never ever had relaxer on my hair for more than 5 mins after the entire application. Not since I moved out of Nigeria anyway. I recall as a youngster, they would make you sit till it was burning- ie- hair already fried and scalp damaged! Thank God for enlightenment. Bottom line of what I am saying is the fact that you have applied relaxer to your hair, it is RELAXED. My hair is relaxed as soon as the relaxer is applied. It is not “texlaxed”, neither is it natural. I actually thought texlaxing was a whole different, chemical-free process and so I was curious to read this article. only to find out it is relaxing! let’s call a spade, a spade…

Lol chill out. Texlaxing is just a word someone on the internet came up with to describe leaving your hair with more texture when you relax it. No one has ever claimed its done without a relaxer. So take a deep breath and calm down hun

I’m texlaxed and I love it. My hair is extremely thick and full so being natural is a big NO for me. But I don’t like my hair being supper straight either. I like a bit of volume which I got when I started texlaxing. Its kind of wavey-ish and its still quite full. I love it.